Addressing the CIS leaders’ summit in Turkmenistan on Friday, Pezeshkian thanked the host country for inviting Iran as the summit’s first special guest, describing the gathering as an opportunity to strengthen existing ties and open a new chapter in cooperation.
He said the simultaneous Caspian Sea environmental summit also provided a chance to address shared interests and challenges among Iran, Central Asian countries and Caspian littoral states.
The Iranian president said recent crises, including the Russia-Ukraine war and military attacks by the US and the Zionist regime against Iran over the past year, have demonstrated that regional security and stability are inseparable.
He argued that countries could not seek security and development in one part of the region while allowing insecurity, economic pressure and instability to spread elsewhere.
Pezeshkian stressed that Iran has consistently advocated dialogue and diplomatic solutions, but said negotiations could succeed only on the basis of mutual respect and reciprocal commitments, without pressure or threats. “Negotiation under the shadow of force is not negotiation; it is imposition and coercion,” he said.
The Iranian president also warned that the use of trade, banking, technology, energy and international financial systems as instruments of pressure against countries has consequences beyond bilateral relations, harming regional economic security, development, trade and connectivity.
Pezeshkian said regional resilience against war, crises, external pressure and disruptions to economic and communication routes depended on linking countries’ capabilities. “Our shared interests lie not in competition between routes, but in connecting routes,” he stated.
The president described Iran as a natural route connecting Central Asia and Eurasia to open waters, pointing to the potential of its southern ports on the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, particularly Chabahar Port, to link the region with South Asia, Africa and Europe.
In this context, he said a Turkmenistan proposal at the United Nations General Assembly to establish a transport corridor connecting Central Asia, South Asia and Europe via the Caspian Sea could be implemented by drawing on Iran’s capabilities. He added that the North-South and East-West corridors should be viewed as parts of a single regional network rather than competitors.
The president also called for cooperation in energy production, transmission and exchange, including oil, gas, electricity and renewable energy. He urged regional countries to consider practical financial and barter mechanisms to facilitate trade and maintain economic cooperation despite external restrictions.
Under the proposed “CIS+1” framework, Pezeshkian said Iran and CIS members could expand cooperation in transit, energy, trade, mining, investment, technology, water, environmental protection, tourism, and scientific and cultural exchanges.
He said the format could also help develop joint regional responses to climate change, water shortages, environmental problems affecting the Caspian Sea and Aral Sea regions, organized crime and drug trafficking.
Pezeshkian called for genuine multilateralism, saying countries in the strategically important region should play a leading role in shaping a multipolar world. He said regional diplomacy should go beyond holding meetings and become a practical instrument for managing crises, maintaining communication, preventing conflicts from spreading and activating cooperation.
“We want connectivity instead of fragmentation, cooperation instead of exhausting competition, interdependence instead of one-sided dependence, and security based on trust and shared interests instead of threats,” he said.
Concluding his remarks, Pezeshkian expressed hope that the summit would help build a regional network linking Central Asia, the South Caucasus and Iran through cooperation, security and development. Geography has connected the countries, he said, but political will is needed to turn that connection into a shared asset for peace, security and development.